Estevanico (ca. 1503 – 1539) (also known as "Black Stephen", "Esteban", "Esteban the Moor", "Estevan", "Estebanico", "Stephen the Black", "Stephen the Moor", and "Little Stephen") was a Berber originally from North Africa and one of the early explorers of the Southwestern United States. Born in the town of Azamor (Azemmour), a Portuguese enclave on Morocco's Atlantic coast from 1513 to 1541, Estevanico was enslaved by the Portuguese at an early age. He was sold in 1520 to Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, a Spanish nobleman with whom he developed close ties. Year 1503 (MDIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... Events May 30 - In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal to find gold. ... The Berbers (also called Amazigh, free men, pl. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... Azemmour or Azamor is a moroccan city, on the left margin of Morbea river, 75km southwest of Casablanca. ... “Atlantic” redirects here. ... 1513 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Events The first official translation of the entire Bible in Swedish February 12 - Pedro de Valdivia founds Santiago de Chile. ... Slave redirects here. ... Year 1520 (MDXX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ...

Estevanico travelled with Dorantes to Hispaniola and Cuba on Pánfilo de Narváez's ill-fated expedition of 1527 to conquer Florida; in doing so Estevanico became the first person born in Africa known to have set foot in what is now the continental United States. He and Dorantes were two of the expedition's four survivors, and had sailed with others on makeshift rafts in an attempt to reach Mexico. The group was shipwrecked on Galveston Island and most of the men either drowned, starved, or were killed by natives; by 1533 only Estevanico, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, and Alonso del Castillo Maldonado survived. The four spent years enslaved by the Ananarivo of the Louisiana Gulf Islands, but they eventually escaped into the American interior, contacting other Native American tribes along the way. The party traversed the continent as far as present-day southeastern Arizona, and through the Sonoran Desert to the region of Sinaloa in New Spain (present-day Mexico), where they were reunited with their countrymen. Early map of Hispaniola The island of Hispaniola (from Spanish, La Española) is the second-largest island of the Antilles, lying between the islands of Cuba to the west, and Puerto Rico to the east. ... Pánfilo de Narváez Pánfilo de Narváez (1470 – 1528) was a Spanish conqueror and soldier in the Americas. ... The Narváez Expedition was a Spanish attempt, in 1527–1528, to install Pánfilo de Narváez as adelantado (governor) of Florida. ... January 5 - Felix Manz, co-founder of the Swiss Anabaptists, was drowned in the Limmat in Zürich by the Zürich Reformed state church. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami metropolitan area Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... The continental United States is a term referring to the United States situated on the North American continent. ... A map of Galveston Island, a barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast in the United States Galveston Island is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast in the United States, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Houston. ... Events January 25 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne Boleyn, his second Queen consort. ... ÔÁlvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (circa 1490 – circa 1557) was an early Spanish explorer of the New World and is remembered as a protoanthropological author. ... Native Americans redirects here. ... Official language(s) English Spoken language(s) English 74. ... Map of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. ... Sinaloa is a state in northwestern Mexico. ... map of New Spain in red, with territories claimed but not controlled in orange. ...

In 1539, Estevanico was one of the four who would accompany Marcos de Niza as a guide in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola, preceding Coronado. However, the others were struck ill and Estevanico continued alone, opening up what is now New Mexico and Arizona. He was killed at the Zuni village of Hawikuh (in present-day New Mexico); the tribe regarded him with mistrust, partially because his medicine gourd was trimmed with feathers from an owl, a bird that symbolized death to the Zuni. Events May 30 - In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal to find gold. ... This was left by Marcos de Niza in 1539 at what is now Phoenix South_Mountain_Park Marcos de Niza (c. ... For the real places of this name, see Cibola, Arizona and Cibola County, New Mexico. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Zuni (also spelled Zuñi) or Ashiwi are a Native American tribe, one of the Pueblo peoples, most of whom live in the Pueblo of Zuñi on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Little Colorado River, in western New Mexico. ... Hawikuh Ruins is a National Historic Landmark located 12 miles southwest of Zuni, New Mexico, New Mexico, on the Zuni Indian Reservation. ... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... For other uses, see Owl (disambiguation). ...

Legends

It is said that Estevanico was a remarkable polyglot and that he was able to learn, in a matter of weeks, the languages of the Native Americans. It is also said that he was accepted as a deity by some Native American tribes because of his knowledge of herbs and medicines. It has been hypothesized that Esteban was not, in fact, killed by the Zunis, but rather kicked out of their village after being imprisoned. He may have then been hidden by the Pimas, who held him in high regard. For most historians, however, the eye-witness accounts of various associates, and the lack of references to Estevanico in later accounts is proof enough of the explorer's death. Polyglot has several meanings: Look up Polyglot on Wiktionary, the free dictionary The property of speaking multiple languages A polyglot is a person that can speak many languages A polyglot is a book that contains the same text in more than one language, usually a bible such as the first...

References

• Clarke, John Henrik. Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust: Slavery and the Rise of European Capitalism. A & B Publisher Group, Brooklyn. 1998. p. 81.
• Logan, Rayford. "Estevanico, Negro Discoverer of the Southwest: A Critical Reexamination." Phylon 1 (1940): 305-314.
• Shepherd, Elizabeth. "The Discoveries of Esteban the Black." New York, Dodd, Mead, 1970. pp. 111-4.

External links

• The Estevanico Society
• Estevanico entry at enchantedlearning.com